Bratislava Street Art Festival unveiled the city's first memorial mural - a tribute to the legendary duo Július Satinský and Milan Lasica on Dunajská Street, created by Italian artist Vincenzo Magno.
Since Monday, September 1, 2025, the public and media began noticing an emerging mural on Dunajská Street. Jul's eyes appeared first on the wall, and the planned surprise was revealed.
From the beginning, passersby spontaneously stopped, and the first information, questions, and positive reactions began spreading across the internet and social media. OZ Euforion and Bratislava Street Art Festival stated in a brief message on their social media that they would address all questions through an official press release after the work was completed.
"To answer the first question - yes, this work is being carried out by Bratislava Street Art Festival under the banner of OZ Euforion. We have been creating street art in Bratislava for 15 years, and 10 years ago we started working on the Street Art Gallery concept in the Kamenné námestie area. We have managed to bring several world-renowned names who have incredibly grown into world-class stars over time. Bratislava was visited by artists such as Fin Dac (UK/IE), Millo (IT), Fat Heat (HU), Tank Petrol (UK/PL), Cart1 (FR). Slovak artists Zuzana Sabová and DAOR also added their works, but the public certainly remembers the legendary Hotel Kyjev Deconstructed by Lausy Auber, which remains a landmark in many shots of the capital," explains the origin of the idea Tomáš Lukačka, BSAF director.
"After many years of free artistic creation, the time was ripe to create the first memorial mural - a tribute. The initial idea came from colleague Pavol Kirsch, a long-time member of the BSAF team. Palo is also a passionate vinyl collector. Looking at the cover of the L+S Dialógy LP from 1980, everything was clear. The artwork on the cover already smelled of street art. The Dunajská location was obvious from the start."
"What amuses us most is when people ask if we have permission, or assume that sprayers did the work overnight. The production of each mural is a demanding process that takes several months or even years to prepare. We prepared the L+S work for almost a year, while the preparation of the Hotel Kyjev work took three years."
"In the case of L+S, we also started from scratch. We contacted Mr. Daniel Zachar, the author of the photograph from the Dialógy LP that we wanted to use as a template. Mr. Zachar sounded amused at first, but he knew our work and agreed with our idea. Next came reaching out to both families. We didn't want to do anything without the knowledge and consent of the Lasica and Satinský families. From the beginning, we knew we had to proceed step by step and not skip any stage. Cultural heritage can only be handled with dignity, respect, and humility."
"While communicating with both families, we refined the design - instead of the guns that Jul and Milan originally held, we used a banana. And not just any banana. It's Andy Warhol's banana. And why a banana? The sounds of guns resonate ever louder in the world, and we didn't want to go that route. At the same time, both had a sense of humor, and it seemed like something they would also agree with. The bananas literally triggered an avalanche of theories, and some were very entertaining, which came in handy during the demanding production," adds Lukačka.
Parallel to the preparations and finalization of the design, a worldwide competition to select an artist took place. The organizers considered artists from the USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, but ultimately they were most convinced by Vincenzo Magno from Italy:
"Of course, we also considered artists from Slovakia, but we didn't want to put anyone under pressure. And Vincenzo's work style fit best into the overall concept, regardless of where he comes from. He is an uncompromising professional. We explained to him that once he starts, he will be under scrutiny. That's why we agreed not to communicate the work in advance until it was finished, to avoid unnecessarily escalating this pressure. From the beginning, we focused primarily on the result."
Large-format street art murals are time-consuming, technically, logistically, and financially demanding productions. Bratislava Street Art Festival is not funded by the city or other forms of state or grant assistance. So how is street art financed?
"It's no secret that we don't receive support from official sources. In the world, it's exactly the opposite - the city always invests the most. Street art is very effective in transforming so-called grey zones. Just notice how many foreign tourists search for and photograph the works at Kamenné námestie every day. We are all the more grateful to our regular partners who help us and share this passion with us. We would especially like to mention the ZSE Foundation, with whom we have a very correct and long-standing cooperation and who helped us cover the implementation costs of the L+S memorial mural. We would also like to approach other companies that selflessly care about public space and would like to become members of the street art family. We would like to complete the Street Art Gallery at Kamenné námestie and in the nearby area."
Will Bratislava Street Art Festival create more works this year? What are the plans for the future?
"Yes, we are still preparing three smaller objects in Ružinov. They will be finished by the end of the year. Next year we have bold plans. We will celebrate the 15th anniversary of BSAF, and if things go well, the public and the street art scene could see the first international street art conference not only in Bratislava but also in Slovakia. Everything is in the preparation stage; we will inform the media and public in advance."
Information provided by: Tomáš Lukačka, BSAF Director
For additional information, please contact OZ Euforion:
Email: tomaslukacka@euforion.sk
Tel.: +421 907 796 660